Vibrant Pittsburgh: Blacks must be part of diversity

“We’re a coordinating body, we are promote training opportunities with a number of groups; the Urban League, Youthplaces, B-Pep to spur skills training, specifically in the energy sector,” Johnson said. “At CCAC, we’re placing people at UPMC, in manufacturing and in energy. Unfortunately, a lot of the workforce training here is geared toward job preparation, resume writing and the like, not actual training.”Part of the elevation and education piece, is promoting training in the region’s large and growing employment sectors such as medical, hi-tech and energy. Vibrant Pittsburgh’s corporate partners include FedEx Ground, UPMC, Kennemetal, EQT, PNC BYN Mellon, Highmark, and Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. And Harrington is currently mapping out with them the conferences and recruiting events to attend in the coming year.“We’ve set up conferences in areas with high Black populations. Last year we went to Indianapolis for the National Black MBA Association conference, and here of course, we were at the National Society of Black Engineers convention. But it’s not just about events. It’s a mission,” Harrington said. “We’re going to be a powerful organization, but we can’t fix years of problems right away. This is a long-term vision, and it’s going to be different.” (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)